The preseason story for the St. Louis Rams has been pretty similar for the past several seasons. Coaches and team executives gush over the high draft picks. Local columnists and beat writers talk about the imminent impact of seasoned, hard-nosed coach Jeff Fisher. Fans and experts state that if Sam Bradford lives up to his lofty expectations as a former #1 pick, the Rams could be a solid team, perhaps even a playoff bound one.
This preseason is no different except the organization, which hasn’t had a taste of postseason play since 2004, is finally getting a little national love in the press. ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha pegged the Rams as a team “primed to explode” this season. He suggested the team’s defensive additions, including the presence of refurbished new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his kamikaze, attacking defense, could vault the team into the playoffs.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King also mentioned the Rams in his “Fine 15.” King wrote: “Might not show up in the record, but the Rams are going to be hell to play, and they’ll be a playoff team if Sam Bradford plays the way he was drafted to play.”
There are murmurings in the secret dictionary enthusiasts circles that the term “if Sam Bradford” may actually be pegged as a new compound word by the good folks at Miriam-Webster. It’s hard to make an argument that Bradford has ever lived up to hype (or salary) as the top guy taken in the 2010 NFL Draft, but he’s shown enough competence at times to keep people hopeful that the Rams’ $50 million investment will finally pay off.
Though his starting record last season was a subpar 3-4, Bradford showed signs of growth by tossing 14 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions in an injury-shortened season. Furthermore, three of Bradford’s four losses came before Zac Stacy cemented his starting position as a reliable, bruising tailback. It was also before the diminutive and explosive wide receiver Tavon Austin showed any signs of life.
Between 2010 and 2013, the Rams drafted a total of seven wide receivers to add to Bradford’s offensive arsenal. While all of them have not panned out, we can only blame the team for so long for not providing enough talent at the position. Eventually Bradford will have to help these young receivers develop into solid NFL players or the team will be forced to find someone else who can. Luckily for Bradford, the vaunted defense that has everyone so genuinely excited about the team’s potential should make his job much easier.
Defensive end extraordinaire Robert Quinn was recently voted the 13th best player in the NFL by his peers. When you weed out the offensive players, he was the third highest defensive player on the list, behind only Richard Sherman (#7) and J.J. Watt (#12). Quinn anchors a talented defense that includes established standouts such as Chris Long (DE) and James Laurinaitis (LB) as well as talented youngsters with tremendous upsides like cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, defensive tackles Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald, linebacker Alec Olgetree and safety T.J. McDonald.
Sure potential is just GM-speak for “give me just a little more time,” but all the aforementioned players have shown flashes of brilliance on the NFL level besides Donald, the rookie. For the Rams to finally taste some level of success, the coaches will have to ride the strength of the defense. The strong unit has cut its teeth in the grimy, gritty trenches of the NFC West. Any return to prominence won’t look anything like the Greatest Show on Turf of the Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz era. No, the Rams will have to channel the days when the Fearsome Foursome wreaked havoc on offenses a half century ago and more than 1800 miles away from the Edward Jones Dome back in Los Angeles.
Though I’m not quite ready to use that “p” word until I see the talent producing on the field, I am genuinely excited to see the Rams defense in the coming season. If the defense lives up to the lofty expectations, the team can allow Bradford to be a successful game manager instead of trying to live up to his draft position. The Rams have a much better chance at a winning season if Sam Bradford is utilized like Trent Dilfer during his time in Baltimore than trying to emulate Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. If this defense really is strong enough to help Bradford lose his ever-present “if,” offenses across the NFL are in for some serious trouble.
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